


Camping Capers

by dracogotgame



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Established Relationship, Family, Humour, Kid Fic, M/M, Minor Sibling on Sibling Violence, Next Generation, old fic, reposted
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-05-31 19:51:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15126686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dracogotgame/pseuds/dracogotgame
Summary: Older brothers are gits. But sometimes, the little ones fight back. In short, Harry and Draco have their hands full.





	Camping Capers

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still here, folks. Sorry that Walk of Shame has been so severely delayed. I promise it's not abandoned but I am working on a big fic which is taking a lot of my time and attention. I'll update as soon as I can and hopefully have something new to share with you guys soon. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this one-shot. Love y'all <3

“So, are you boys all set to sleep under the stars tonight?” Draco asked over breakfast one morning.  
  
His six-year-olds exchanged excited grins and nodded vigorously. Draco exchanged an amused look with his husband, smiling when Harry squeezed his hand under the table. It was nice seeing the kids so happy.  
  
“It’s going to be awesome!” Albus announced happily. “We’ll pitch a tent in the yard and we’ll have sleeping bags and comics and Bertie Bott Beans and...”  
  
“...and we’ll make a campfire and tell each other scary stories!” Scorpius contributed, bouncing excitedly in anticipation of their night out of the house.   
  
Harry winced at that last bit. “Maybe hold off on the fire,” he suggested. “And keep the scary stories to a minimum. We don’t want you spooking each other out, yeah?”  
  
“We’ll be fine,” Al insisted.  
  
“Sure you will,” a new voice commented cheerfully. “At first.”  
  
Draco raised an eyebrow as Teddy sauntered in, with all the authority of a fifteen-year-old who had spent more than his fair share of nights in the backyard. As usual, James was firmly by his side. The conspiring grins on their respective faces were not very reassuring.   
  
“Would you like to elaborate?” Draco asked dryly. He had a feeling they would.  
  
“Yeah,” Al added, frowning uncertainly. “What do you mean ‘at first’?”  
  
Teddy blinked innocently before turning to James. “I don’t think they know,” he stage-whispered, widening his eyes for effect. James played along, feigning shock. “Should we tell them?” he whispered back.  
  
Harry gave them a warning look. “Boys,” he began sternly. Unfortunately, they had already captured their audience’s attention.  
  
“Tell us what?” Scorpius demanded, pouting suspiciously.  
  
Teddy and James exchanged another silent look. James sighed dramatically and offered an exaggerated nod of approval, prompting an eye-roll from his fathers. “Okay, I guess you have a right to know,” he said soberly. “Tell them, Ted.”  
  
Teddy crossed his arms and sighed. “There’s a full moon tonight,” he announced quietly.  
  
Draco did not like where this was going. “Teddy,” he scolded, pointing a firm no-nonsense finger at his cousin slash quasi-son. “Stop it.”   
  
Naturally, he was ignored.  
  
“What about the full moon?” Albus piped up, eyes wide and rapt with attention.  
  
Teddy was clearly fighting for a straight face by now. Nevertheless, he kept his expression solemn and his voice low. “They say that when the night is dark and the moon is full, The Headless Horseman comes out to prowl. He stalks through the woods on his skeleton steed, lying in wait for careless little boys out on their own...”  
  
“Uh huh,” Harry drawled, clearly unimpressed. “And who are ‘they’ exactly?”  
  
Teddy huffed impatiently. “You know,  _people._  Everyone.”  
  
“Not everyone,” James corrected. He whirled around to Al and Scorpius with a menacing grin. “Those captured by the Headless Horseman don’t  _ever_  say anything again.”  
  
“Because they’re dead,” Teddy added helpfully.  
  
That got the desired effect. Scorpius whined and huddled against Harry’s arm while Al clambered over Draco for comfort. Harry sighed in exasperation and gathered up his trembling son. Draco held Albus close and scowled at the two troublemakers. “Bravo,” he drawled, offering a slow clap for good measure. “An extraordinary performance, really.”  
  
Harry snorted. “Makes you wish they’d put this much effort into their homework, doesn’t it?”  
  
“They’re lying, right?” Albus demanded, staring up at Draco with big, green eyes. “Right, Father?”  
  
Draco smiled and stroked his hair gently. “Of course. You know better than to take them at their word, don’t you?”  
  
“Yeah,” Al mumbled, snuggling into his side again.  
  
“I guess so,” Scorpius added uncertainly.  
  
Harry shot the snickering duo one last glare and hoisted Scorpius up. “Come on,” he said, kissing his forehead gently. “Let’s go get the tent set up, yeah? And you two,” he added, eyeing Teddy and James warningly. “Stay out of trouble.”  
  
They waved cheerily as he left for the yard with Draco and the kids.  
  
“You know, Ted,” James said thoughtfully, after a beat of silence. “I see a  _lot_  of potential here.”  
  
Teddy grinned and clapped his back. “Jamie boy, I like the way you think.”  
  


* * *

  
Later that night, Scorpius huddled inside his sleeping bag, listening to the rustling wind. Al was right next to him, fidgeting restlessly as he tried to get comfortable.   
  
“You don’t think Jamie and Ted were telling the truth, do you?” Scorpius whispered.  
  
Al turned on his side, looking slightly pale. “Dunno,” he mumbled. “I don’t think so. But...”  
  
“But what if they were?” Scorpius finished shakily.  
  
Al sighed and reached out to pat his brother on the back. “It’s a good thing we came prepared, huh?”   
  
“Yeah,” Scorpius agreed. “But I don’t think Jamie’s Beaters’ Bat will be much good against a Headless Horseman.”  
  
“Maybe the Dungbombs will hold him off,” Al suggested. He didn’t sound too convinced though. Scorpius sighed and snuggled back into the bag, trying to will himself back to sleep. He really wished he could run back to the house. Dad and Father had said they could come back inside anytime they liked, but...Scorpius didn’t want to be the one to bolt first. Al was still here and he was being brave, wasn’t he?  
  
And then Scorpius heard a sound that made his insides freeze in pure terror.  
  
A low ghostly moan echoed outside the tent, punctuated by soft, footsteps. Scorpius’ heart hammered and he clenched his sweaty palms tight, squeezing his eyes shut. “Al?” he whimpered.  
  
“I hear it,” Al confirmed, sounding just as terrified.  
  
“Wooooo!” The moan echoed in the night again. A scraping sound carried over, like claws being dragged against the bark of a tree.  
  
Scorpius bit down a scream of terror. “It’s h-him,” he whimpered. “Al, it’s  _him!”_  
  
He wanted Father. He wanted Dad. Heck, he would even settle for James and Teddy at this point!   
  
A dark shadow cast itself across the tent. Al swallowed and got up. He was still shaking like a leaf but his expression was stoic. “Remember when you said the Dungbombs won’t hold him off?” he whispered.  
  
“Y-yeah,” Scorpius stammered.  
  
Al nodded firmly and handed him a Dungbomb. “Let’s find out.”  
  
Scorpius looked at his brother’s brave, determined expression and felt his own courage make an unexpected comeback. He lifted his chin and picked up the Bat. “Together,” he told Albus solemnly.  
  
The shadow hovered outside the tent. Albus and Scorpius watched with wide eyes and bated breath as a ghostly hand extended, fumbling with the tent flap. Suddenly, the flap tore open and they found themselves staring at a ghostly, linen-clad wraith, towering above them in all its macabre, decapitated glory.  
  
It was him. It was the Headless Horseman!  
  
Now or never, Scorpius decided firmly.  
  
 **“Now!”**  Al bellowed, tossing a Dungbomb at the Horseman. It grunted in surprise and fell over.  
  
 **“Kill it!”** Scorpius howled, wielding the Bat like a battle-club. “Kill it until it’s dead again!”  
  
The brothers issued their war cries and charged for the Horseman, determined to go down fighting.  
  


* * *

  
Harry bolted down the stairs, and raced to the gardens, only vaguely aware of Draco close at his heels. By the time they managed to make their way towards the chaos, things were already bad enough.  
  
“Oh perfect,” Draco muttered, sliding to a halt beside his gaping husband.   
  
“Die, Headless Horseman!” Scorpius shrieked, holding the Bat up. “Die!”  
  
“Get him, Scorp!” Al shrilled, hopping around as he tossed another Dungbomb in the ruckus. “Get him where it hurts!”  
  
“Ow!” the crumpled figure on the ground moaned, rolling around in the dirt. “Holy sh...we  _give_  already! We surrender!”  
  
Harry groaned and scrubbed his face wearily. “Should we stop them?” he asked.  
  
Draco rolled his eyes. “In a minute.”  
  
 **“Die die die!”**  Scorpius bellowed, bringing the Bat down again.  
  
“Okay, we’re stopping them,” Harry decided, striding over meaningfully. “Boys! Boys, calm down.”  
  
“Dad! Father!” Al yelled, making a beeline for his parents. "It's the Horseman!"  
  
“Scorpius, stop,” Draco ordered, pulling Albus over. “It’s just your brothers.”  
  
Scorpius stopped his assault and blinked. “Huh?”  
  
Harry sighed and batted the sheets away, extricating a rumpled Teddy from the tangle. James’ head popped out from under him. “Holy Mother of Merlin,” he groaned pathetically. “My spleen!”  
  
Al gaped as they emerged, his shocked expression immediately giving way to outrage. “It’s them!” he howled.  
  
“You  **jerks!** ” Scorpius shrilled. “Dad, look! Look what the gits did!”  
  
“I know,” Harry sighed. “I see them.” He huffed in exasperation as James and Teddy tried and failed to get out of their mess. Finally, he hauled each of them up and marched them over to his husband. Apparently, Scorpius and Albus hadn’t beaten  _all_  the sense out of them because they cringed in the face of Draco’s impending wrath.  
  
“Aren’t you two ashamed?” Draco growled, glaring at the cringing boys. “I for one would really like to hear what you have to say for yourselves.”  
  
“That makes two of us,” Harry put in sternly.  
  
“And three!” Scorpius added, crossing his little arms and glaring.  
  
“We didn’t think they would fight back!” James protested, still doubling over. “Seriously, does  _anybody_  care about my spleen?”  
  
“No,” Draco replied flatly.  
  
“It was just a joke,” Teddy mumbled, scowling as he scrubbed dirt out of his hair.   
  
“You ruined our camp-out!” Al protested. “We could have died!”  
  
“ _You_  could have died?” James argued, holding his side. “You nearly killed us, you little monsters!”  
  
Al snickered and high-fived Scorpius. Harry chuckled and Draco suppressed a smirk of his own as they turned to the sullen duo. “What should we do with them?” Harry asked. “Ground them? Extra chores? No allowance?”  
  
“Oh, come on! They threw Dungbombs at us!” Teddy whined. “Haven’t we been punished enough?”  
  
“No,” Al and Scorpius chorused.  
  
“I agree,” Draco put in. “This calls for creative measures.” He smiled ominously at the two and cast the verdict. “Congratulations, gentlemen. You just earned yourselves a night of Guard Duty.”  
  


* * *

  
A few hours later, two sullen sleepy boys scowled at each other as they guarded the tent against terrors of the night.  
  
“ _Great_  plan,” Teddy grumbled. “One of your best. Give yourself a hand, James.”  
  
“Oh, shut up,” James snapped, still scrubbing dirt and dung off his hair. “You didn’t have to go along with it.”  
  
“Yeah? Well, you’re a jerk.”  
  
“You’re the jerk, jerk!”  
  
A blond head popped out of the tent suddenly, startling both of them. “Any sign of the Headless Horseman yet?” Scorpius asked brightly.  
  
“For the hundredth time, no!” Teddy snapped. “There’s. No. Such. Thing!”  
  
“Just checking,” Scorpius replied. He smiled sweetly and held out a bag. “D’you guys want some Beans?”  
  
James scoffed and snatched the bag up. “Thanks. Now get lost, squirt.”  
  
“Goodnight, then.” Scorpius bid them a polite farewell and scrambled back inside the tent. Al frowned at his brother. “Why did you give them the Beans?” he demanded in a furious whisper. “After all they did to us too!”  
  
“Don’t worry,” Scorpius grinned. “I threw in some  _special_  ones for them. Wait for it.”  
  
“Ugh! Vomit flavoured?! You little  **gits!** ”  
  
Al burst into giggles as Scorpius snuggled back in his sleeping bag with a contented sigh. “I love camp-outs, don’t you?”


End file.
